Inspiring Journalism in Democracy

Last weekend I spent three days working with high schoolers from all over the state at the YMCA's Youth and Government conference. This mock congress gave students an opportunity to see democracy in action and how the process works. My main work was with students in the media departments and helping them to see how journalism holds our government accountable. While we faced some interesting challenges we were able to produce a daily paper for the conference and even influence a House vote on a controversial bill.

These experiences are the ones that give teachers hope that their work will not be worthless. Opportunities to affect a student's life outside the classroom are everywhere. As educators we need to take these opportunities as a learning experience for our students and ourselves, so that we may inspire students.

I wrote my opinion about this experience in N.C. State's newspaper, Technician, "Rekindling passion for democracy."

Here is the same column on Technician's Huffington Post blog site.

Tutoring at the WELL

This semester I began tutoring at the Wade Edward Learning Lab, a community center with the mission to provide “opportunities for achievement, enrichment and success” for students in the community. At this center, students are able to work on homework, projects, etc. with computer and Internet access as well as receive free tutoring from local volunteers. I volunteered as a math tutor for high school students, mainly in Geometry. This experience allowed me to work with high schoolers on a one-to-one basis, which gave me great experience with teaching the concepts of a math course. During this experience I was able to gauge how well students understood the course content while observing the obstacles they faced in fully mastering it. This was very beneficial for me as a future educator, not only for the experience in dealing with mathematical topics but to see the importance of serving my community.

From my school and society course I have learned how important it is for a teacher to engage their school’s community (students, parents, other teachers, administrators and the local community). This is extremely important, because each part of that community is a stake holder in the success of the school. The WELL helped me apply my understanding of this idea. Working with the students at the WELL and seeing volunteers at work showed me the importance of helping students outside of the classroom. I plan on taking this with me throughout my time as an educator, to engage my school’s community to fuel the success of my students inside and outside the classroom.

Technician Design Samples

Since becoming Managing Editor at Technician, I have been able to explore and practice different ideas for print design in the newspaper. For a job interview they asked me to compile a few samples of my work, so I decided to upload the PDFs here as well.

-The first two pages are the front and back cover (a wrap) of Technician on the day after the elections.

-The third page is a feature on the new Halo game.

-The fourth page is a commentary comparison between the Galaxy S III and the iPhone 5.

-The fifth page is a graphic on the increasing cost of tuition over the years.

-The sixth page is a graphic tour of the new Hunt library on Centennial Campus.

-The seventh page is a graphic of what N.C. State basketball players take with them on away games.

-The final page is a part of series of end of the season report cards of N.C. State's fall sports.

Visionary Leadership Certificate Portfolio

As a part of my Leadership in Action program we are required to finish the necessary courses and projects to obtain the Visionary Leadership Certificate. This certificate is granted once you complete core classes through CSLEPS Leadership Development Series workshops, a community-based component as well as elective LDS courses. At LIA's end of the semester banquet last year I was given my VLC. I was very proud to have completed the requirement by the end of my sophomore year, because I've since been able to apply my knowledge in different clubs and organizations. This includes inside my classroom experience for my education courses.

As a teacher it is vital you demonstrate leadership (whatever that means to you). Whether you take up coaching a sports team, advising a club or even offering your room for studying during lunch. It is important teachers know their role in society so they can contribute to it to the best of their ability, while setting an example for their students. Here is an online version of my VLC portfolio which includes reflections for my community involvement (SERVE Project) and LDS course work.

Absorbing Markov Chain Presentation

For my discreet math class we were asked to do presentations on some mathematical model. I choose to do a section of our book titled "Absorbing Markov Chains." This is my presentation on the subject.

 I felt this project was a great tool for this type of class, because it asked students to explore a topic on their own, research it, write a paper to demonstrate their findings, and then give a professional presentation on the topic. This project could be adapted to a high school classroom by having students give presentations on math topics in my class to other students.

Digital Lesson: Conditional Statements

In my ED 204 class last year we were asked to create a lesson to use throughout the entire course. For my project I choose to attempt a "flipped lesson" on conditional statements. Here's a link to my digital lesson as well as my Wiki page for future lessons.

Cultural Diversity in ASB Atlanta '10

Prior to my first break freshman year I had a fellow education major interview me for the school newspaper about my application to go on an Alternative Service Break trip through the Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service (CSLEPS). At the time I was only toying with the idea of going on one and haven’t even submitted the application yet, but since I was published in print saying I planned to apply, I went straight to the website and made the deadline by one-hour. After about a week I was told I would be going on the fall break trip to Atlanta. The theme of this trip was homelessness, hunger and civil rights. The members of our team were ten other college students (be being the youngest one at the time) and four freshman from local high schools.

Our first stop (which was the exact opposite direction of Atlanta) was my home town of Greensboro. In Greensboro we went the International Museum of Civil Rights. Being from Greensboro I knew the historic background of the Woolsworth counter sit-in, and knew the museum was under construction, but I had never been there. The museum shed some significant insight on the struggles of the ‘60s civil rights movement. After staying the night in Greensboro we departed for Atlanta at 5:30 a.m.

Upon arriving in Atlanta we went straight into loading up trucks at Hosea Feeds the Hungry and Homeless foundation, and split into two groups.  I and one other college student went with the four high school freshman, to deliver meals within the city. We saw things that you would not believe. While at one of the sites, a homeless man told us, "Homelessness is not a crime, but a bad condition." Then he prayed with all of us. To see these people lose everything, and still have their faith truly touched me. I think of all the little things I question my faith with, and this made it seem dull in comparison. While delivering meals the girls told me I should teach at their school, which is always great to hear. That evening I asked one of the high school students what they thought and she replied, "It makes me appreciate what I have."

I feel with any type of social issue our society faces knowledge is the best way to combat it. The more people who are aware of the problem the more there are to find a solution. Especially with the issue of homelessness, it benefits students (of any age) to witness some less fortunate than they are to appreciate what they have and feel the compelling need to give back. A primary goal of education is to prepare students to be productive members of society. One of these aspects is to demonstrate how a citizen can give back to their community.

The main take-away for this trip was the importance of diversity and appreciation for other cultures. This is vital for our classrooms. On this trip I was one of two Caucasian students, which was very different than what I was used to. I had a small experience of what it was like to be the minority, and while it was intimidating at first cultural and racial bounds were eliminated and we all united under one cause. If we could instill this in every student that comes through our doors, we can help ignite culture change in our society.